Plot: What’s it about?
For over twenty years now, “The Simpson’s” has been my favorite television show. I don’t know what it is about that little yellow family that keeps me glued to the screen, but it’s something. I can’t (and probably don’t want to) count the amount of hours that I’ve spent in front of the TV chuckling to the antics of the citizens of Springfield. In recent years I’ve also become quite the fan of “Family Guy”, a much more irreverent spin-off of “The Simpson’s”, but nonetheless funny in its own right. I’ve yet to really figure out how Fox is releasing these seasons. In the beginning it was very easy as they started at Season One and kept going up. Well, that changed when the show went HD and they released Season 20. Then Season 13. Hmmm. Yeah, I don’t get it. Well, the important thing is that they’re still releasing the seasons and someday we’ll have them all on disc format.
This fourteenth season was a landmark in that it featured the show’s 300th episode and, by comparison, they’re nearly at episode 500 as of this writing. There’s really not a whole lot to make this season stand out more so than the rest and the usual bevy of guest stars does help to define it. We get Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz, Blink 182 and Tony Hawk among others. As with other seasons, there’s the obligatory “Treehouse of Horror” episode, Bart moves out and gets his own place (in the 300th episode). I’m pretty sure I’ve said this in other seasons, but if you’re reading this then you most likely don’t need any convincing to pick this up. Fox has done another fine job with this season and if you’re into the collectible cases, this one features Kang (or is it Kodos). I don’t really care for them, but if it’s your thing – run don’t walk!
Video: How does it look?
While the newer episodes of “The Simpson’s” are now being shown in 1.77:1, these “earlier” episodes are still shown in the original 1.33:1 full-frame ratio. I watch these reruns pretty much every day and the first thing that really struck me was the color. It’s much more rich and robust than the somewhat pale over the air broadcasts. As any animated title, it does look better than a live action movie and we lose the artifacting and can focus on the pristine quality of the prints used. I didn’t have a Blu-ray of this season to compare it to, but I did compare it to one of the standard DVD seasons. Colors are about the same, but there does appear to be some sharpness associated with the Blu-ray that does give it the edge.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio has been bumped up to a DTS HD Master Audio mix and its odd hearing such robust sound from a cartoon. The episodes I watch on TV are usually of sub-par quality, though so long as I can hear the dialogue that’s all I really need. Surrounds are used here and it does give the show a bit of depth. Episodes like “Treehouse of Horror” do sound exceptionally good, though let’s face it ? those watching “The Simpson’s” for the audio quality alone are people you don’t want to associate with! Only kidding. Again, it’s a step up from the reruns that you’ll see on TV, and about on par with the other seasons on DVD.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The supplements for this season are somewhat consistent with the other season Blu-ray’s/DVD’s. We get an audio commentary with Matt Groening on every single episode as he’s joined by executive producers Al Jean and Mike Scully. A few featurettes are included as are some deleted scenes (with commentary), some sketches and a special language feature on the “Treehouse of Horror” episode.
